Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Joseph F. Robare

Abstract

Prison staff sexual misconduct is an ongoing issue in the United States, but little is known about how inmates’ perceptions of staff sexual misconduct influence their mental and physical health. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine the relationship between staff sexual misconduct with federal prison inmates and prisoner mental health and rates of injury, and why inmates are not reporting sexual misconduct encounters. Ecological theory provided the theoretical foundation. The three research questions were designed to examine the relationships between nonconsensual sexual misconduct of prison inmates with prison staff and (a) serious mental health illnesses and (b) injuries experienced from nonconsensual sex with staff and (c) not reporting sexual contact with staff. Data from Part 2 of the 2011-2012 National Inmate Survey (N = 38,251) were analyzed. Binary logistic regression, multinomial logistic regression, and chi-square analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed a statistically significant (p < .001) and predictive relationship between inmates' sexual experience with prison staff and serious mental health illness; results also showed that nonconsensual sex with staff predicted inmates' injuries and inmates not reporting sexual victimization. The study’s implications for positive social change include providing additional knowledge to administrators that could inform the development of formal rules or policies about sexual relationships between prison staff and inmates that may delineate what is and is not tolerable staff behavior. Additionally, this study could have an impact on public health practice by highlighting the need for further studies on prison staff sexual misconduct, especially in state and federal prisons in the United States.

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